PLP 2010 Profile: Douglas Gebhardt

Name: Douglas Gebhardt
Age: 40
Birthplace: Peoria, IL
Current Digs: James City County / Williamsburg, VA
Occupation: Vice President of a Contracting Company
Favorite part about the job: Closing a deal
Your first job ever? Paper route – I rode my bike through the neighborhood delivering newspapers.
Favorite book? What’s So Great About America by Dinesh D’Souza
Favorite movie? Remember The Titans
Comfort food? A prime cut of steak
What's in your car CD player right now? Nothing…I typically listen to Satellite Radio
Next journey? Sunset Beach, NC
Favorite Virginia vacation spot? Shenandoah Valley & Blue Ridge Parkway Area
First political memory? Election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Whom do you admire and why? Rev. Fr. Robert Sirico President and Co-Founder of the Acton Institute, the mission of which is “to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles”.
Best advice you ever got? Be yourself and do not be concerned with what others think.
If you could have dinner with any one currently living, whom would it be and why? Rev. Fr. Robert Sirico (see above) to discuss his work at the Acton Institute and the connection between virtue and economic thinking.
Describe a perfect day. Begin the day with a vigorous physical workout followed by a spiritual “workout”. Spend time with my three magnificent children (i.e. playing sports / games, taking them to Busch Gardens, etc.). Conclude the day by getting a baby sitter for the kids and taking my wife out for a nice evening dinner.
One thing most people might be surprised to learn about you? Good question…I think they’ll have to figure that out on their own.
Ambition, political or otherwise? Follow God’s intended path for me, be it continued success in business, serving in some political capacity, and / or something that has not yet been revealed to me.